{"article":{"id":18028,"heading":"Sacco-Vanzetti 75th Anniversary - A Call for Writings from Anarchists","author":"ronarchy","created":"2002-07-28 00:04:17","modified":"2002-07-28 00:04:17","last_modified":"Sun, 28 Jul 2002 07:04:17","article":"

\"That last moment belong to us - that agony is our

triumph.\" - Bartolomeo Vanzetti, shortly before his

execution

August 23 marks the 75th anniversary of the judicial

murders of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two

Italian-born anarchists, by the State of Massachusetts.

On August 23 this year, we will hold a mass rally and

memorial in Union Square, New York City, to commemorate

their executions and renew our commitment to the ideals

Sacco and Vanzetti fought for - a society without the

state, without the church, without capitalism - a

classless society where everyone can live free.

The 75th anniversary of their deaths is a chance for all

anarchists around the world to exchange information about

what we are doing to carry on Sacco and Vanzetti's

struggle.

WRITE TO US! Tell us about your affinity group's current

struggles - in your country, in your community,

internationally - and how you are fighting the forces that

Sacco and Vanzetti dedicated their lives to overcoming. We

will read your message at the Union Square rally on August

23, and include it in a book to be published shortly

thereafter.

ORGANIZE YOUR OWN SACCO-VANZETTI OBSERVANCES IN YOUR

COMMUNITIES! Combine them with direct actions against the

state, against capitalism, against the forces that enslave

us every day. Make August 23 a worldwide day of

expression for our resistance to the state and the

capitalist forces that control it.

Why are Sacco and Vanzetti still important today?

Sacco and Vanzetti were framed for two murders in

Massacusetts because the United States ruling class was

in the grip of a hysterical witch-hunt against anarchists.

Coming out of the First World War - a war fought to enrich

the capitalist class - America was rounding up,

imprisoning without trial, and deporting hundreds of

foreign-born workers on suspicion of being \"subversives.\"

A non-citizen who merely expressed the opinion that the

state was not the best way to organize a society was in

danger of prison, torture, and deportation. The death

penalty was an established part of the judicial process;

judges applied it disproportionately against the poor,

people of color, and immigrants.

Today, very little is different. The \"war on terrorism\"

has given the US government the pretext for a massive

assault on human and civil rights. Hundreds of foreign-born

persons are being held indefinitely, without trial, for

the \"crime\" of being Muslim. Hundreds more, mostly people

of color, sit on death rows waiting to be made martyrs to

the state's relentless quest to assert its authority over

life and death. Meanwhile, the US continues to fight its

\"war on terrorism\" as a cover for extending the power of

the business elite who control the government. Other

governments are either enthusiastically supporting or

silently going along with America's attempts to impose a

single capitalist order over the entire world.

The nature of the state and of capitalism have not changed.

But neither has our opposition to them. In the 1920s, the

framing of Sacco and Vanzetti ignited protests all over

the world. Demonstrations took place in France, Italy,

Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Scandinavia.

It took 10,000 police and 18,000 soldiers to prevent a mob

from besieging the American embassy in Paris. Today,

opposition to global capitalism's attempts to dominate the

developing countries and destroy workers' rights in the

industrialized nations continues to grow, despite police

repression and government's refusal to listen. The

struggle, as Sacco and Vanzetti knew, is worldwide.

Join us on August 23 to show that the struggle continues!

Send Writings to: saccoandvanzetti@ziplip.com<\/a>

The Sacco-Vanzetti Commemoration Committee

339 Lafayette Street, New York NY 10012, Room 212

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